Depression pills?

[darkw0rker]

Are they actually effective? Because I know that I'm depressed. But I've heard so many people that taking pills is not the real cure, it will only make you happy temporary.

So should I deal my depression by pills or by myself?

[Xanafax]

Do you know you are depressed because of a self diagnosis or by a medical experts diagnosis?

[darkw0rker]

Self diagnosis!

I mean I can feel it, every day I feel depressed!

Maybe I don't know what you mean?

[Xanafax]

Maybe you should go see a doctor? Certainly don't take pills without a medical diagnosis.

[darkw0rker]

Well that's what I was actually asking, maybe I did not express myself clearly.

Should I see a doctor?

Because if I do, then he's gonna give me pills, and I don't think personally pills are the way to cure this thing!

[Xanafax]

Then I suggest visiting either a counselling psychologist or a Psychotherapist. However if you are not wanting pills I would recommend the counselling psychologist as they are not professionally trained in a way that allows them to prescribe medication.

[Brutha]

How much excercise do you get?

Do you do gratitude journaling?

[Mr. Punch]

If you really are depressed, you should go see a professional. If left untreated depression can become chronic.

No one can force you to take anything. You should look for therapeutic treatment as well as medical. Pills probably will not do it alone. Meta-analyses of antidepressant medications have reported only modest benefits over placebo treatment and then mostly in the severe forms of depression.

David D. Burns book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy helped me a lot in dealing with my own depression. The book doesn't rule out medical treatment but it emphasizes the theraputic dimension.

[Dimond]

There are all kinds of tools, therapy and supplements you can try. But it's a very serious illness that often needs meds to help. I don't believe in medication unless it's needed. Mental issues are more difficult than physical ones. You need to do whatever you can to find something that works for you. A counselor or other type of doctor can at least help diagnose what type of depression you have so you can figure out what direction to go in. If you aren't doing that bad, you can research this yourself.

This website has a free ebook that gives various natural supplement recommendations:

The Way Up

[estudiant9]

Originally Posted by darkw0rker

Are they actually effective? Because I know that I'm depressed. But I've heard so many people that taking pills is not the real cure, it will only make you happy temporary.

So should I deal my depression by pills or by myself?

I'm not a medical professional and in no way qualified to give you a definitive answer, but...

I'd strongly recommend that you explore all the other non-chemical alternatives before you look into pills.

I took Zoloft for about 8 months due to depression/social anxiety, under full supervision by a qualified medical professional who specialized in collegiate mental health. I took the maximum dosage at her recommendation, and yes, the pills "worked" in the sense that they made me feel exponentially better. Most antidepressants have an onset period of 4-6 weeks, which is required for the pills to reach their full impact. For the first couple of weeks after the pills started working fully, I was darn near euphoric. You couldn't wipe that smile off my face if you tried with a sledgehammer. I felt so good about everything in life, loved everyone. I felt like I became a totally different person, even. No longer the anxious, fearful wallflower, but a cool, carefree, even confrontational badboy.

Paying $300 per month for those pills got quickly overwhelming, however, and I was so convinced that I no longer needed those pills that I came off them cold turkey. A patently stupid idea, but when you feel so good, you can't imagine that your happiness is dependent on anything other than your own self.

The next four months were a nightmare. I lost my first romantic relationship, fell asleep in classes because I was so lethargic, alienated my friends, didn't want to do anything. I hadn't the faintest notion that the pills had a lot to do with it until way later.

As far as I know, no pills that have been created as yet make permanent changes in your brain's biochemistry. They sometimes have nasty, long-lasting side-effects too, although I haven't really experienced them personally.

Part of your depression is of course due to the conditioning of your mind, and yes, your biological makeup which can be temporarily corrected by medicine, but another part of it might simply be that your life needs changes which no pills can bring about. Maybe you're in a dead-end job. Maybe you have no direction in life and just trudging along. Only serious and deliberate soul-searching can help you find your way.

So, be careful with them pills. Know the risks. Seek some sound help.

[estudiant9]

As far as nutritional treatments, I'd strongly, strongly recommend that you take fish oil. You should be taking it anyway, with or without depression. It's a natural anti-inflammatory that helps with cardiovascular and brain functions. Anyone can benefit from it. I take the Triple Strength Fish Oil by GNC (General Nutrition Center), two pills a day with a meal.

Look on the web and you'll find a ton of studies hailing the benefits of taking Omega-3 supplements. You can find Omega-3 in lots of different sources, but fish oil is by far the best, a lot better than flaxseed oil which is mostly ALA, little of which is converted into EPA and DHA which your body can use.